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Death highlights many who struggle with mental illness

When Robin Williams sat down with comedian Marc Maron for an hourlong conversation in 2010, he spoke with such warmth and laughed so often, listeners could be forgiven for missing the sadness of the conversation.

When Robin Williams sat down with comedian Marc Maron for an hourlong conversation in 2010, he spoke with such warmth and laughed so often, listeners could be forgiven for missing the sadness of the conversation.

Williams was talking about his depression, cocaine addiction and his 2006 relapse into alcoholism after 20 years of sobriety.

"It's trying to fill the hole and it's fear, and you're kinda going, 'What am I doing to my career?' And you start thinking, 'You know what would be great at this point? Rehab.' But it's the idea of just, you bottom out."

A minute later, Maron said Williams was an "international superstar."

"That s--t fades, though. The weird thing is, people say, 'You have an Academy Award.' The Academy Award lasted about a week and then one week later people go, 'Hey Mork.' And it's all that stuff."

Williams' talent was rare, but his mental-health problems weren't. Each year, approximately one in four American adults experiences a diagnosable mental illness.

In apparently taking his own life, Williams was statistically one of 108 Americans to do so Monday alone.

Every 13 minutes in the U.S., someone takes their own life, making suicide the 10th most common cause of death, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Williams, 63, was among America's fastest-growing age group — 45 to 65 — for suicide, said Dr. Daniel Pacheco, chief medical officer at Banner Behavioral Health Hospital in Scottsdale. "Particularly, men are more at risk and are more successful at their attempts."

Some people may have a hard time understanding why Williams — "one of the funniest men alive — would do this," said Pacheco, who is a former licensed mental-health therapist.

Williams won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "Good Will Hunting," as well as two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammy Awards. He was beloved by millions, and even President Barack Obama released a statement mourning Williams' death.

Trying to understand why someone would take their own life isn't easy.

But, "you don't see what's going on in the inside," Pacheco said.

"Depression can come on like ocean waves," Pacheco said. "It's a chronic disease. Stress can happen with social, economic pressure and they really reach a point where they find the only solution is suicide.

"They feel they are in serious pain. It is not a selfish act. It's the only option where they feel they can be in control."

In July, Williams went into rehab at Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center in Minnesota, and was expected to stay there for several weeks.

Williams abused alcohol and cocaine early in his career but quit after friend and fellow comedian John Belushi's fatal overdose in 1982. He suffered relapses and struggled with sobriety his whole life.

Experts estimate that fewer than 25 percent of depressed people receive adequate treatment.

However, for those that do, treatment can be effective 60 percent to 80 percent of the time, according to Heather Brown, vice president of Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition, and prevention administrator for Mercy Maricopa Integrated Care.

"Most people don't want to die," she said. "They just want help to live. If you have any red flags, follow your intuition. Be willing to listen. People are afraid they'll say the wrong thing, but not asking is worse than saying the wrong thing."

The American Association of Suicidology conservatively estimates about six people are intimately affected by every suicide.

How to get help

For help with a mental-health crisis, call Crisis Response Network: 800-631-1314 or 602-222-9444 in Maricopa County. 800-273-TALK, or 800-273-8255, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.